Records within the grasp of receivers Ellingson, Sinopoli

Only three players in CFL history have had at least 2000 receiving yards in a single season, and even on his current league-leading pace, it’s highly unlikely Greg Ellingson will join that illustrious group this fall.

Well, isn’t it?

The Redblacks third-year pass magnet would need 967 yards in the last seven games to join the likes of Allen Pitts (2036 in 1994), Terry Greer (2003 in 1983) and Derrell Mitchell (2000 in 1998). That’s just over 138 yards a game.

Ellingson doesn’t have a realistic shot, does he?

“Well yeah,” the 28-year old Floridian said after practice Tuesday. “If I have a couple of 100-yard plus games, and the rest consistent, it’s possible.”

Brad Sinopoli thinks so, too.

Asked if he believes Ellingson’s potential of joining the 2,000-yard club is out of the realm of possibility, the other half of the Redblacks dynamic receiving duo shook his head.

“For him? No,” said Sinopoli. “Honestly. He’s already over 1,000 after 11 games. That’s unbelievable. I haven’t told him that or anything, because I expect him to be doing what he’s doing. He’s so humble, so modest, just keeps chugging along. I think it’s possible if he keeps doing what he’s doing.”

Most importantly, so does the dealer of the football.

“We’ll get him a 200-yard game and then we’ll start talking,” quarterback Trevor Harris said with a smile.

One thing seems almost a certainty: With 64 catches for 1033 yards, Ellingson should set a new standard this season for Ottawa pro football teams. Gerald Alphin holds the Rough Riders’ record with 1,471 yards in 1989. Jason Armstead has the Renegades’ mark with 1,307 yards in 2005.

Ellingson has now racked up three, plus-1,000 yard seasons in a row, but for the first time in his career, he could also lead the league in receiving. Currently, his stiffest competition is from Toronto’s S.J Green, who has 1,002 yards after the same number of games.

Sinopoli is third with 810 yards — and a league-leading 71 catches.

“It’s just nice to have a team that has faith in you, trusts in you to give you the ball and let you make plays,” said Ellingson, who had four grabs for 89 yards and a touchdown in Thursday’s 32-4 win over Montreal. “Any football player who’s been around for a while knows that when you have the opportunities, you have to capitalize on them. It’s just nice that the front office and the coaching staff have faith in me that I can make plays and lets me contribute to helping the team win here.

“That would be cool,” he added, when asked about possibly shattering Ottawa’s all-time single season record. “It’s always nice when you get your name down in the history books, one of those accomplishments that would be behind the Grey Cup last year. That’s kind of what it’s all about, just getting yourself in position. At the end of the year when you look at your accomplishments, it’s all fine and dandy, but really, we’re all about putting ourselves in position to win a Grey Cup here in Ottawa.”

Sinopoli, who had seven catches in Montreal last week, is 23 receptions from tying the Ottawa franchise mark of 94, set by Marc Lewis in 1987. He’s also 41 grabs shy of equalling the record for most catches by a Canadian, held by former Montreal Alouettes star Ben Cahoon.

To set the new standard, Sinopoli needs to average six catches per game the rest of the way.

“It’s hard to get two,” he insisted.

Sinopoli said he and his good friend rarely ever talk about their numbers — or rib each other about who’s leading who.

“The only time we do is if we accidentally run each other’s routes,” he said, chuckling. “I ran one last game that was supposed to be his. I messed the call up and he adjusted and ran what I was supposed to run. I ended up getting the ball. We were just joking about it after.

“Honestly, we just make the catch, get up, we don’t really celebrate too much, just go on to the next one. That’s kind of what it is.”

Harris said having his receivers set records would probably be more important to him than them.

“For some reason I’ve always been that way,” he said. “In college it meant a lot to me. I think it was my sophomore year, a guy broke the catch record, and in my senior year, a guy broke it again. As a quarterback you love seeing your guy succeed. It’s good seeing your guy finish at the top and achieve the goals they had set out, and that you can be the quarterback that throws them the ball for most of those.”

TURNOVERS REMAIN ISSUE FOR REDBLACKS

Trevor Harris has more passing yards, touchdown passes, completions and attempts than any quarterback in the CFL this season.

He has also fumbled the ball more often than any other player.

“It’s funny, you lead the league in a lot of categories, but the one they ask you about is the negative one, right? That’s what the media is,” Harris said Tuesday, when the subject of his seven fumbles was gently brought up. “But I’ve got to make sure I’m more conscious about protecting the ball. That’s all there is to it.”

Asked if protecting the ball better comes with experience, the Redblacks first-year starter was curt.

“I guess,” he said.

The infamous record for most fumbles in a season is held by Damon Allen, who had 18 in 1992 as the quarterback of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Allen was also an effective scrambler, rushing for 850 yards and seven TDs that season.

Harris has a strong arm but lacks mobility (18 carries, 72 yards), which can leave him vulnerable to pass rushers. He has also thrown seven interceptions — which isn’t horrible given it’s only one more than Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell and Toronto’s Ricky Ray, and four short of the league leading 11 tossed by Montreal’s Darian Durant — but only two teams have committed more turnovers than Ottawa’s 19.

“For him, just like anybody else, you want to make sure you keep two hands on the ball and secure it,” Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said when asked about his concern over Harris’ fumbles. “Sometimes it’s more difficult for a quarterback because you’ve got to be in a position where you’re ready to throw the ball, but he’s going to work on taking care of the ball, just like all of us are.”

Campbell wasn’t completely satisfied with his offence in Thursday’s lopsided victory in Montreal, in which Harris had a fumble and an interception.

“I know our guys were a little frustrated,” he said. “We left some points on the board. We were able to move the ball well, and have a good time of possession … but there were a couple of more opportunities where we could have taken care of the ball and scored more points, and that’s what we’d be shooting for.

“Your goal is always to have zero (turnovers) on offence. At the same time I want our guys to play with some aggression and play to make plays, so once in a while that could happen. We’re not looking to play perfectly. We’re looking to play really well and play fast.”

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